April 30, 1975: Commemoration Day for the Fall of Saigon

Normally, I would have some special article based on some notable historical figure of Vietnam to attach to a day like this. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time to do such a thing, so I’m just going to get straight to the point. This article is dedicated to that fateful day on April 30, 1975, when the North Vietnamese steamrolled into Saigon to bring an end to the long civil war.

There really isn’t much left I can say about this day. It was a tragedy, a day that marked the fall of one of Vietnam’s brightest periods in the modern era. South Vietnam was not without its flaws; there were numerous corrupted idiot officials in the government. However, despite these bad eggs, the key values which Republic of Vietnam represented were democracy, freedom, and liberty.

South Vietnam never got to reach its full potential because of the war, but in its short lifetime, the RVN gave a glimpse of what Vietnam was capable of. The people of Vietnam, then, now, and always, have so much to offer to make the country great. Unfortunately, because of Ho Chi Minh and his Communists, the endless talents of the Vietnamese people have been, and continue to be squandered and suppressed.

On that day, thousands of scared and heartbroken South Vietnamese people pored into the American embassy in Saigon. Many others jumped on the nearest boat and set sail into the open sea. All of this to escape the impending brutally and slaughter that followed after the North Vietnamese formally consolidated their rule over the population. Many of the refugees lost their lives at sea, but some were lucky to land in many countries such as Australia, France, Canada, and America.

These survivors started new lives overseas, and are our mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, cousins, our brothers, and our sisters. They were the boat people, those who braved the perils at sea to start all over, in an alien place that we all take for granted today. As the new generation, we don’t really know how lucky we are to be living in a land of opportunity, liberty, and freedom. I’m not just talking about America, but of all liberal democracies across the world.

If you are a Vietnamese whose loved ones are among the few to survive the dangerous journey across the seas, and have provided you with an amazing life in this wonderful democracy of ours, I suggest you go to them and give them a giant hug. After that, tell them that you love them, and then thank them for providing for you in a land of freedom, democracy, and equal opportunity. Today may be a sad day in history, but it is also a time to appreciate the gifts that we so often take for granted: freedom. Have a nice day, my fellow leaders of tomorrow. To my people in Vietnam, a change will come, and you will be the ones to do it. Just believe.

I find it so stupid when pro-democracy activists, call South Vietnam the better state. 90.000 people were murdered by the criminal military junta that ruled South Vietnam after 1963. But even the period between 1954 and 1963 was not democratic. South Vietnam was always a corrupt capitalist state, created by the French to keep at least one part of their Vietnamese colony in line with world capitalism. Laos and Cambodia were also created as capitalist kingdoms!

The Republic of Vietnam was no based on democracy. It was like North Vietnam a dictatorship of few people. I oppose the ”Socialist” Republic of Vietnam as a revolutionary socialist. But I hate it when pro-democracy activists praise a corrupt military regime like South Vietnam. You have no idea how many Vietnamese hated the military regime of Nguyen Van Thieu. Win-out American support the regime collapsed in just 55 days!

Also about this ”great democracy” of your I can also say enough. If you live in the USA then you should know that your plutocracy is just as bad as Vietnam is today. You may have some freedoms in the USA, but when you expose their secrets to the public, then you will be hunted down.

It is so sad that you are still being kept yourself to the brainwash era of the 20th century. This is now the 21th century, I encourage you to wash up whatever you have exposed and brainwashed by communists and communist’s puppets.

Jorien, you are wrong completely. South VN may not be as democratic as the one of big countries like USA. Like Thailand, Phillipines and many developing countries, it is not easy to achieve a true democracy. But it was much better than communist regime. North Vietnam, just like North Korea now, So, it is very ignorant to compare South VN is the same North VN. Regarding corruption, you can not say that corrupt officials from many small democratic countries are the same with communist members . Besides, how about cruelty and cold blooded officials of North Korea, Vietnam communist nowadays.et c
Any way, any democratic country, even it is a defective democratic country , it is still better than under communist regime. That is no need to discuss more. If you like, then go to Cuba, to North Korea to understand what was a North VN.
And do not see why many Chinese and Vietnamese try to get visa to live in many other democratic countries?? You do not know about communism, you are better than not to give any comments. Also, many South VN’s soldiers were so brave and sacrificing, even though some officials are corruptive. The South VN’s army was trying to stop communists invading Southwards. It is the truth, no matter how deffective in the system, you should learn to see the true face of communism, and learn to respect the spirit of those who try to fight back communism.

and in May, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh Trail , at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. About 500 of the “regroupees” of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation.